Richard's Gardens

A record of my final year at university......and beyond

31 December 2006

Signs of Life



I know it does't look like much, but I'm always excited when I see the first bulbs showing signs of life.

A lone Hyacinth and Narcissus 'February Gold' braving the windy conditions and heralding the start of a new year. No sign however, of my Cambo Estate snowdrops.

28 December 2006

Sackler Crossing Kew



It was good to visit Kew Gardens on boxing day - nice to get out after the excesses of Christmas.

Landscape architect William Kent (1658-1748) was responsible for some of the earliest follies found at Kew and felt that objects and buildings should be “stumbled upon as if by accident”. Landscape designer ‘Capability’ Brown (1716-1783) expressed a preference for undulating curves and for what he called the “sinuous line of Grace”.

The new Sackler Crossing (2006) embraces the ideas of both Kent and Brown, a modern "chanced upon" folly, and a "serpentine curve" spanning the lake.

My pictures don't do it justice but it really is worth a visit, a beautiful sinuous structure of black granite "deckboards" and bronze balustrades.